SDCC: Marvel TV Hits San Diego

Yesterday may have been the big day for Marvel Studios' first foray into live action television, but that was far from the last bit of the company's TV news to hit Comic-Con International in San Diego. Saturday morning at the pop culture gathering, Marvel's Head of TV Jeph Loeb took the stage for the Marvel TV panel highlighting the company's incoming animated offerings.

"I like showing San Diego the things we've been working on," Loeb said after pumping up the crowd with a little bit of rivalry he has with Marvel CCO Joe Quesada over whether the New York Comic Con fans are better at panels than the San Diego set. He said that each year at the con, he tries to bring something special for San Diego to properly represent the West Coast.

The executive then made a statement about Marvel's desire to keep their animation at the top of the line before showing off something that was decidedly less than top of the line: a new "Marvel Mash-Up." This installment of the comedy remix of old Marvel cartoons focused on the "Iron Man" animated series of the '90s, turning the page from the usual '60s and '80s toons the short pieces that run on Disney XD's Marvel Universe block.

Speaking of which, Loeb then announced that "Ultimate Spider-Man" had been renewed for a third season, showing off an image from the show where Spider-Man meets up with the Avengers cast of "Avengers Assemble." It seems the animated universe is growing tighter as all the shows are now drawn on the same basic model. Loeb then showed off a preview for the next major episode of the Saturday morning hit: a story featuring incoming movie stars the Guardians of the Galaxy. Aside from teeing up incoming movie story lines with elements like the Chitauri taking part, the episode will also feature a crucial confrontation for the new teen Nova.

Talk then shifted to the two animated series that most viewers haven't seen too much of, starting with "Hulk And The Agents of S.M.A.S.H." Hulk voice Fred Tatasciore stood up in the audience and shouted out some green goliath growls for fans while Loeb praised the voice cast which also includes Clancy Brown, Seth Green and Eliza Dushku. "The writers on that show include our friend Paul Dini who's a two-time Emmy winner," he said also praising the likes of "Clone Wars" writer Henry Gilmore who serves as story editor.

The panel then rolled tape on a full episode of the Hulk show written by Gilmore. This installment sent the team of Hulks to the Savage Land to battle Sauron, but while there were a few well-placed Marvel cameos in the cartoon, perhaps the biggest thing to note about how "Agents of S.M.A.S.H." will operate is its mockumentary/reality TV style setup where all of the Hulks frequent comment on the action via "confession room" videos which slide in and out of the action and provide a number of comedic moments.

Loed wrapped the panel by showing a brand new episode of the just launched "Avengers Assemble" which featured Marvel anti-hero Hyperion. The Man of Action co-written episode played heavily on the character's likeness to a certain Man of Steel, though along the way a number of surprises cropped up in the story. Overall, Marvel's stated goal of trying to match the tone of the show to the "Avengers" movie was in full effect.